


The Huntress in the East Blue

by Flying_Thunderbird



Series: The Huntress [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Female Monkey D. Luffy, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:20:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24206611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flying_Thunderbird/pseuds/Flying_Thunderbird
Summary: Luffy sets sail and has an eventful first few days. Between bad Marines, bounties and new Nakama, life is very busy.Sequel to The Huntress.
Relationships: Makino & Monkey D. Luffy, Monkey D. Garp & Monkey D. Luffy, Monkey D. Luffy & Mugiwara Kaizoku | Strawhat Pirates
Series: The Huntress [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1698712
Comments: 17
Kudos: 102





	1. The First Catch and the First Mate

**Author's Note:**

> Here is the Sequel!  
> Hope you enjoy it :)

(X)(X)

1

The First Catch and the First Mate

(X)(X)

_“Fist of LOVE!” Garp bellowed as he brought his fist down on Luffy’s head. Or tried to, as his granddaughter managed to dodge just in time. “Get back here! You will be a strong Marine! It’s bad enough that Ace left to be a pirate!”_

_“Don’t wanna!” Luffy said as she pulled at her stretchable skin to make a face at her grandfather._

_“Waahhhh...” Garp screamed as he lunged and proceeded to grab the girl and pull her into a Fist o Love._

_A few minutes later, the man sighed as the teenager in front of him finally sat down in defeat as she rubbed at the bump in her hand._

_“Seriously Lu, bounty hunting is extremely dangerous, you have no comrades and no one to watch your back. If you want to catch bad guys it’s much better to join the Marines” He said, shaking his head and scratching his beard._

_“Who said so?” The girl pouted and crossed her arms in defiance. “I can make a crew of bounty hunters, they’ll be my Nakama.”_

_Garp shook his head in disagreement. “I will admit that some bounty hunters sometimes work together, but it never lasts. It won’t work. You’ll just have to join the Marines!”_

_Luffy shook her head so fast that her neck stretched a bit before returning to normal._

_“No way. The Marines have to follow all those stupid rules and do what other people tell them. I’m gonna be free!”_

_And she promptly bolted away to the sound of an enraged grandfather “Luffy! Get back here! We haven’t finished this conversation!”_

(X)(X)

“Who is this fat lady Coby?” Luffy asked as she noisily ate her meat, no care at all to the existential crisis going on with the boy beside her.

“How dare you!” Alvida roared as she slammed her mace down, sending wood flying everywhere. “Who are you? Are you Roronoa Zoro? No! You can’t be, they said he was a man!”

“Heh? Who’s Roronoa Zoro?” Luffy cocked her head and blinked up at the woman in confusion as she scratched her head.

“O...oh!” Coby stammered “He’s a sup-p-per scary bounty hunter!”

“And as expected he might come for my 5,000 Beli bounty” Alvida stated proudly. “And to appreciate my beauty.”

Luffy laughed loudly and pointed. “Ugly Lady, there are bandits with higher bounties than that! You didn’t even make it to my East Blue bounty collection” She said, brandishing a mass of bounty posters that had been stitched together brought forth from the depts of her bag, before having to once again dodge the enraged pirate’s mace. “Still... I am a bounty hunter, and since you were mean to Coby, I guess I can make you my first catch.”

And anyway, 5,000 Beli would still buy her lots and lots of meat.

(X)(X)

“Wha-a-at are we going to do!” Coby cried in distress, as Luffy lowered an unconscious Alvida to the dinghy before throwing her mace in, hitting her in the head again in the process.

“Do you know where the closest Marine base is? I kinda got lost with the whirlpool and all” Luffy said as she started rowing away from the boat filled with unconscious pirates and grateful civilians.

“We-e-ell. We should be close to Shells Town” Coby said as he looked at the obese pirate. “Bu-but why don’t you give her to them?” He asked pointing at the Marine vessels in the distance.

“Good! Let’s go! I can turn in the ugly lady and you can enlist.” She said with a cheer. “I want my first bounty to come from a real Marine base! Everyone says the marines in the ships don’t pay you right.”

Staring open-mouthed at the girl, it took a while for Coby to process what was happening.

“We have to go the opposite direction Luffy-san”

“Thanks! You’re so smart Coby!” Luffy said with a bright smile “If she starts to wake up hit her with the mace again!”

(X)(X)

“This town feels kind of weird” Luffy murmured, scratching her eyebrow with one hand while she dragged the tied-up pirate with the other. “Tell me about that Zoro guy again?”

Her question caused the same reaction as the name of the marine captain had, and Luffy frowned as Coby stammered unintelligibly by her side.

“Seems like this marine captain is a meanie.” She stated to the boy as they finally approached the Marine Base.

Coby shook his head in denial. “No way! No way! He’s a Marine!”

The girl hummed in response, before getting distracted by a figure on the other side of the courtyard, strapped to a post by his arms “A prisoner?”

“Tha-that...! I-It-It-It-It’s...” Coby’s newest nervous breakdown was too much to Luffy who simply made her way inside the building’s reception room dragging both pirate and boy by the cuff of their shirts.

“Hello, good afternoon! I’m here to claim the bounty of Iron Mace Alvida please!” She said to the incredulous man behind the desk.

After paperwork and more paperwork that bored Luffy to tears, she finally exchanged the pirate for enough money to buy her lots of meat for dinner and still have leftovers for tomorrow.

“By the way, who’s the guy outside?” The reaction of the Marines was strangely interesting.

“A-ah! No one important Miss, just a normal troublemaker facing his punishment”

Luffy narrowed her eyes. Even the Marines in this town were weird. It was really a weird town. But what made them weird? She was really, really curious.

“Luffy-san...” Coby whispered furiously as they got outside the building. He was also really weird. Why didn’t he want to enlist already? Wasn’t it his dream?

Luffy came out of her thoughts as a little girl jumped over the wall around the base and made her way over to the prisoner.

“Oh no!” Coby whined, flailing his hands. “She’ll be in danger!! That’s Roronoa Zoro!”

“Ohhhh...” So, so interesting! She was right. This weird town was really curious.

(X)(X)

“Hey! Want to be part of my crew?” She asked, smile big as her eyes closed in delight. This guy was so cool! She could tell he would be an amazing Nakama!

Zoro scoffed sending her a glare. “I’m not a Pirate. I’m a bounty hunter and I’m not gonna lose my morals to become some thieving scum.”

Luffy bent her back so she could by at eye level with the bound man, to make sure he saw the eye roll she made just for him. “Those are really cliché words you know. Not all pirates are mean. Some just want adventure.” She shrugged. “But I’m not a pirate either. I’m a bounty hunter like you. Just turned in my first bounty!” She cheered.

“Then what do you want with me?” The man asked, eying the rice on the ground with hungry eyes.

“I want you on my crew. I’m making a crew of bounty hunters so we can travel the Grand Line”

“Right... Well not interested right now. I have a promise to keep.

She laughed, “Well, I refuse your refusal, I’ll come back later, you’ll change your mind.”

“Before you go... Could you get me that rice?”

(X)(X)

“We’re freeeeee!!!” The Marines shouted happily, sending their caps into the air in celebration.

Uh. That was so much fun! Fighting beside her Nakama was always the best! And now she had a first mate!

So now, should they go celebrate or should she go try to make sure the weird town would stop being weird?

Who was she kidding, meat always came first!

“Let’s go eat Zoro! Coby! I bet you're hungry!”

“Damn yes!”

(X)(X)

“I have heard that you are pirates.” The Marine in charge stated. “We have come to verify if you are indeed so or not.”

Luffy swallowed her meat and cleaned her face with the napkin before answering. Manners were important according to Makino, and she liked to make Makino happy.

Even if she couldn’t see her right now.

“Nah, we’re bounty hunters, silly. Well, me and Zoro. I just got you Alvida a few hours ago don’t you remember? Coby here actually wants to be a Marine, he helped me with getting the ugly pirate up to your base.”

“Ah, I see.”

Coby looked at her with stars in his eyes for not mentioning his previous connections with the pirate captain.

“I am sorry to say that the pirate Alvida managed to escape from the cells during the commotion with Captain Morgan.” The Marine bowed his head in shame. “The bounty we already paid is of course yours to keep. Is there any way we can repay you for your help with the Captain?”

Luffy blinked. Well, it was no problem of hers if the pirate ran or not, even if it was a bit annoying. But this help thing was just what she needed.

“Do you have one of those talking snails?”

(X)(X)

“Vice-Admiral’s Garp command ship here. What is the message, 153rd branch?” a deep voice came from the snail in the table, prompting the Marines present to fall down in surprise.

“V-vice-admiral?” Coby muttered, eyes wide in wonder and fear.

“Bogard, hello!” Luffy said excitedly, prompting Zoro to raise an eyebrow in surprise. It seemed like his new Captain had some contacts in the Marines. “Good afternoon, or good morning, wherever you are! Can I talk to gramps?”

“Ah, Luffy, it’s evening actually, but I’ll go get the Vice-Admiral. Your grandfather is still training the recruits”

“G-GRANDFATHER!” Coby and the Marines screamed in surprise.

“What?” She asked confused. This town really was weird. Coby had already been weird before they got there, but she still hoped it wasn’t contagious.

“Ah Luffy!! How is my precious granddaughter!” Garp cooed from the snail a few seconds later. “Bogard said you’re at the 153rd branch! Are you there to enlist? Have you finally decided to become a Marine?”

Rolling her eyes in annoyance, Luffy couldn’t help to laugh at the same old argument. “Nah old man, you already know I’m gonna be a bounty hunter. I came to get my first bounty, 5 million for Iron Mace Alvida.”

“Bwahahahaha! 5 million! That’s so low! Bwahahaha! Still, not too bad for a first catch. But now you must enlist! You’re clearly losing your time” It seemed like Gramps didn’t know if he was proud or not.

“Nope” She said simply. “Anyway, I just called to let you know that the Marine Captain here, the hammer guy, was a really fake Marine and I took him down. The other Marines are happier now. Wait, was it a hammer or an ax? Zoro, what was it?”

“What? Who is the Marine in charge? Report Now!”

“Y-yes sir! Vice-Admiral Sir!”

(X)(X)

I long sigh could be heard from the snail after the long explanation.

“You have to be careful with this Luffy. In this case everything went alright, but it might not always be the same.”

“Everything is too annoying. This town was weird, it’s better now, but it’s still weird.” Luffy said absentmindedly, scratching at her hear.

“Listen to me you runt” The snail shouted. “Do you want to be arrested? Do you want a fist of LOVE?” Luffy flinched in surprise before making a face at the snail. It wasn’t like her Gramps could do anything from far away.

A scuffle could be heard from the other side, as well as some mutters that sounded suspiciously like “don’t punch the Den Den Mushi sir!” before a calmer Garp came back to the conversation.

“That’s the second-biggest base in the East Blue, get a bloody snail in the town. They should have at least some. If anything like this happens again, you give me a call, so I know you aren’t doing anything stupid. UNDERSTOOD?”

“Uh. I guess I can do that.” Luffy said with a shrug.

What was the chance of that happening again soon?

“Good. Now who is this Zoro person? Are you hanging out with boys Luffy? You are not allowed to hang out with boys that aren’t family Luffy!”

...

“Luffy?”

“LUFFY!?”

(X)(X)

“Phew! I’m so glad Gramps is far away!” Luffy said with a smile. “Here, you keep the snail box for now. I put some green eating stuff for it inside already.”

Passing the box to Zoro, she pulled the sail so they could leave the island behind.

“Next Nakama, here we go!”

(X)(X)

_“Now Luffy, you should follow Ace’s example and try to be more polite.”_

_The young girl shook her head her air flying in different directions all around her. “Don wanna!”_

_“I don’t want to. That is what you should have said.” Makino corrected gently. “And you should try, because being polite can help you get things you want.”_

_The girl narrowed her eyes, looking suspiciously at the woman she saw as her big sister. “How?”_

_“Well, imagine that you are taking a pirate to the Marines, to get a bounty,” Makino explained, her brain furiously working to come up with examples that would interest her very difficult audience, “and then you’re very mean and disrespectful. They might try to be mean back and not give you all your money, because you were mean first. Or they might not help you with other things you need, like maps or tips to travel in the grand line. Or places where you might find treasure or other mean pirates to capture.”_

_Luffy’s face contorted into a cute frown as she processed the information. “And if I’m polite they will help with all those things.”_

_Makino smiled, ruffling the girl's hair on her way across the bar. “Of course, they will help if they can. Unless they are mean people or mean people are stopping them from helping.”_

_Luffy let out a long-suffering sigh. “Ok, I guess I can have some manners lessons with Makino. If Ace thought it was a good idea, I guess I can do it.”_

_The bartender’s laughter soon had her perking up a bit from her slump. “I bet you can be better than Ace at it!”_

_“Yeah!” pumping her fist into the air, the girl completely forgets her previous annoyance as she determinedly decided she would definitely beat Ace at this manners thingy._


	2. Big Noses

(X)(X)

2

Big Noses

(X)(X)

_“What will your boat be like when you have a crew?” Ace asked as they waited for the meat to get done._

_“I dunno” Luffy said, shrugging. “I guess I‘ll figure it out later, when I need one?_

_“Whaaaat?” Sabo screeched. “You can’t do that! You have to really plan it you know! A boat is super important!”_

_Scrunching her nose, Luffy moved the spit over the fire so the boar leg could cook on the other side too “Why? A boat is a boat. It travels from island to island.”_

_“No! A boat is not just a boat!!” Sabo said wailing while Ace laughed at his misery._

_Sending a glare his way, Sabo suddenly turned to Luffy with serious eyes. “As your big brother, it is my duty to educate you on this issue. I won’t stop until you know everything about boats!”_

_“Meat first” Ace stated, pulling his leg from the fire, and prompting his siblings to immediately do the same._

(X)(X)

“Do you know where we are going?” Zoro asked, looking at his captain holding the tiller that steered their dingy’s rudder.

“Yeah, no worries, my brothers thought me to sail without getting lost or drowning.” Zoro snorted, amused at the description. “But man, I’m so hungry!!” She wailed.

Zoro’s face contorted in exasperation. “You just ate the last of our food ten minutes ago.”

“I’m still hungry...” She whined, looking up at the suns position in the sky. A dark shape passed overhead and Luffy licked her lips. “I see a bird! I’m getting that bird for lunch. Here, get this so we don’t lose our way.

Zoro dragged himself to his captain’s previous position “We already had lunch.”

“It can be a snack then” She said with a smile, before launching her hand up to the sky and grabbing at the bird. She blinked, her big eyes seemingly taking up her whole face before she simply said. “Oh-oh..” Before being pulled into the air and kidnaped by a very disgruntled bird.

“LUFFY! Damn it!” abandoning the rudder, Zoro grabbed the oars ad started rowing after his flying captain.

(X)(X)

“Oh Boss! I’m so happy you’re here! I’ll leave it to you!” The red-haired girls said with a wave.

“Uh?” Luffy blinked looking down at the weak thugs at her feet. “I don’t even know who they are? Why were they being mean?”

“You are pretty strong! I’m a pirate thief. My name is Nami, who are you? We could team up!”

“Me? I’m Luffy!”

(X)(X)

“Don’t worry big nose! I’ll give all your parts to the Marines. Just separated from one another. No biggie” Luffy grinned as she stole all the knives that Buggy the clown had hidden in all the little folds of his clothes.

“STRAW HAT!! Let me go!” The furious pirate screamed, spit flying everywhere.

“Nope. Now nighty night!” She sang happily as she dropped one of the loose rocks on the street on his head and stuffed his gloves in his mouth for good measure.

(X)(X)

“You really are strong after all, I think I’ll actually join you!” The red-headed girl stated, smirking at the duo standing in front of her.

“Really! Yeah! I have a Navigator!” She jumped around in joy, glomping Zoro on the way and making him stager at the unexpected weight.

“But only If I get 80% of all the money!” The other girl stated, making Zoro freeze and Luffy to immediately stop her cheering.

“No way!” Luffy and Zoro said at the same time, before blinking and looking at each other.

“Why not?” Nami’s countered.

“We’re a crew and in a crew, we are all the same. So, we will all set a part of the money for the ship and food and divide everything else the same.” Luffy stated with a nod, crossing her arms in front of her.

Looking surprised at the sound logic coming from the meat obsessed girl, Zoro copied her stance.

Narrowing her eyes, Nami decided to change strategies. “Fine, you can do that with bounties, but I’m a pirate thief. If I steal money from pirates, I get to keep it all.”

Luffy rubbed her chin considering. “Fine. You can keep the money you steal until you get your 100 million Beli. But after that, we share what you steal, because if you’re stealing then you aren’t helping catching pirates.”

“Fine” Nami agreed with a nod.

Finding his Captain looking at him, Zoro nodded too “Fine by me.”

Face opening into a huge smile, Luffy cheered once again, returning to her victory dance.

“Navigator! Navigator! I have a navigator! Yeah!”

(X)(X)

“Where should we head now?” Zoro asked, pointing at the two piles of... chopped pirate parts. “We need to get rid of him”

Luffy blinked, head tilted to the side. “Well, carrying him around is annoying, and I don’t know where we can find other Marines. I guess we can go back to Shells Town. Fifteen million Beli would be good for buying more meet.”

“Damn! We took a day and a half to get here!” Zoro whined.

“A day and a half?” Nami snorted, shaking her head. “You really are amateurs. I’ll get us there in four hours. And your right, Shells Town has the closest Marine Base. We should get this guy’s bounty and then try to find somewhere else to get a bigger boat. That town had nothing decent available.”

(X)(X)

“AMAZING!! 80 million pirates!!” Luffy screamed in excitement. Pulling her bag over shoulder she pulled out her bounty poster collection and started flipping over the pages looking for the picture or name of the so-called captain. “Hey Nami! Have you heard of him? How much is his bounty, you think? I can’t find his bounty poster!!!”

The other girl snickered in amusement “Nah, I don’t think you’ll find him.”

“We’re not pirates, we’re bounty hunters,” Zoro smirked, lifting the hilt of his sword. “I guess you will be a perfect meal ticket then”

“WHAAAATTTTT!!!” The big-nosed guy screeched, sending birds flying from the trees behind him, and three little boys running.

(X)(X)

“You know Usopp, even if Shanks is my idol, I never wanted to be a pirate, I am happy being a bounty hunter. I think you would probably also be better at it. Being a pirate is probably very annoying.” Luffy said, making sure to speak only when her mouth wasn’t full.

“Really? But why?”

“Yeah, I’m also curious. If this Shanks was so important to you, why didn’t you want to become a pirate? And, well with your grandfather and all” Zoro asked, curious.

Nami lifted her eyebrows in question, never having heard of any family members “What grandfather?”

“Vice-Admiral Garp, apparently” said the green-haired swordsman between bites.

“What!!” In her surprise the navigator got up and slammed her hands on the table. “Explain! Everything!”

“It’s not a big deal. Yeah shitty gramps is my gramps. He wanted me to be a Marine, but I didn’t want to. Marines have to follow lots of rules and do what others tell them to. It’s boring. And pirates have to run from marines all the time. That’s annoying. If I’m a bounty hunter I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, and no one is the boss of me.” Luffy said simply, patting her finally full stomach.

The others blinked around her.

“That kinda makes sense,” Usopp said, scratching his head consideringly.

(X)(X)

“That butler guy was really weird,” Luffy said, as the group waited for Usopp to come back. “I’ve seen him somewhere before”

Rubbing her shin and ignoring Nami’s voice as she said she must be imagining things, Luffy decided to pull out her trusty bounty poster collection. Her news Coo subscription better come thru, she didn’t want to get behind on her posters.

“Nope... Nope... Nope...”

Getting behind his captain, Zoro used his taller frame to see over her shoulder as the captain flipped through the pages. Each one was a bounty poster for a wanted pirate or bandit, all from the East Blue. A few of them had the money prize crossed over with a red marker. He noticed that Buggy had been crossed over with a green one, and so had Alvida, although that one had now been crossed over again, probably due to her escape.

“Found you!” Luffy stated in victory pointing frantically at a specific poster, visibly crossed over in red, prompting Nami to also come around to better see what she had in her hands.

He whistled. “Kuro. Sixteen million Beli. Pretty good.”

“Yep. Only he should be captured or dead. Or the two things.” Luffy said, showing them the crossed bounty value. “When the news Coo says they are dead or in jail, I cross them off.”

Before either of her Nakama could comment on her surprising organizational skills – really, she was awesome, they should stop being surprised – they suddenly heard the sound of someone mumbling a song coming from around the path, followed by the appearance of a very strangely dressed man walking backward.

They followed him with their eyes, Luffy calmly closing her collection before he was close enough to take a look. As the man demonstrated his hypnotic ability, making himself fall asleep in the process, Luffy, got up from the floor dusting her pants.

“I’ll go find Usopp. This village is getting weirder.” Luffy’s strangely serious face instantly put the others on alert.

“What is it?” Zoro asked, also getting up.

In answer, Luffy turned to the page before Kuro, who read “JANGO – 9,000,000 Beli”

(X)(X)

“You will help? Why will you help?” Usopp asked, tears streaming down his face.

“Because they have more people” Luffy said simply, flexing her arm.

Nami smile was predatory. “But let's make something clear. All their treasure is mine.”

“We might share some of the bounty. We’ll figure it out later.” Luffy shrugged not at all too worried about the logistics at the moment.

Meanwhile, Usopp just cried in happiness

(X)(X)

“I hate scum like you.” Luffy seethed, glaring down at her defeated enemy in disgust. “Treating your crew like this!”

Pushing her hat over her eyes, Luffy took a deep breath to attempt to calm herself. “Can you check on Zoro, Nami? Do you think Kaya has a basement or something like that where we can stash this creature?”

“On it boss! I’ll find out”

Luffy didn’t bother looking up when Nami spoke. But she did look up when one of the pirates down the slope decided to bring attention to himself. “Hey, what are you doing to captain Kuro?”

“This man lost the right to call himself a captain when he decided to discard his name and run away from the sea.” She sneered down at the rowdy pirates, eyes dark with fury. “Now scram”

Frightened for their lives, the group of pirates run off towards their damaged ship, one captain and one first mate short.

(X)(X)

“So, what do we do with the trash?” Zoro asked, thanking Kaya as she rebandaged his wounds. “Shells Town is still the closest Marine base. Do we really have to go back there?”

“Ah! Misters pirate hunters, sir, mam” Kaya’s butler – well, other butler – said gently, gingerly patting his also bandaged torso. “I believe the best solution is to call the Marine dispatch number, report the occurrence, and wait for the closest vessel to respond”

Zoro blinked, “Dispatch number?”

“Oh! I’ve heard of that!” Luffy hit her fist on the palm of her head. “There is a mystery person with a mystery power who knows where all the Marine ships are and can send one to where you are. It was all a bit weird when Makino was explaining it. Uhm” She mumbled the last part to herself, rubbing her shin as she tried to remember. “Don’t remember the number though!”

“Idiot!” Nami screamed in her face, slapping the back of her captain’s head and making it slump all the way down to the other girls' stomach. “We could have asked in Shells Town!”

Luffy chuckled, rubbing the back of her – back to its normal place – head. “Oops”

“It’s not a person really. From what I know it’s just several people and a very special network of Den Den Mushi. But I will give you the number, you might want to keep it noted down in a safe place. It looks like you will need it again” Mery smiled. “They might take a day or so, but I would say we all need the rest.”

“Sure, old man. Thanks!” Luffy’s good disposition was never missing, even after being scolded by her Nakama. “It’s not like those two will be getting anywhere.”

(X)(X)

Down in the basement, two very annoyed pirates sneezed through their gag, barely managing to not bust their head on the stone walls of the very narrow wine cellars they had been dumped in.

After removing all the remaining wine bottles of course. No one wanted to risk great wine to a pirate’s attempt at escaping.

(X)(X)

“Woah! Kaya, are you sure? We are just 9 million Beli richer, even if we still need to get to a Marine base to get the rest of the money. We will be even more when the Marines finally verify Kuro’s identity. We can pay for a boat.”

Kaya shook her head. “No, no. I insist. You saved my life, you deserve this gift of gratitude!”

Luffy smiled, eyes bright with happiness. “Thank you! We will go check it out! We will save the money for anything we might need to change so the ship can hold prisoners.”

“Hem, hem” Mery’s cough was weird, so Luffy thought he might still be a bit hurt from his fight as she turned to look at him. “While we were waiting for the Marines to arrive, I took the liberty of doing some small adjustments that might serve your purposes. So, you might want to save the money for future upgrades, or even for a bigger ship when your crew grows. Let me show you.”

(X)(X)

“Whoa!”

Everyone was in awe of the two big solid iron cages suspended by chains in the middle of the lower deck between the stairs going up to the main deck and down to the hold.

“I believe this will be sufficient for now, until you get to a bigger island and find what you need for any special prisoners you catch.”

“This is amazing!!” Luffy exclaimed, followed by his other Nakama.

“I’m glad. Let me show you the rest. Here on this deck, you have a few private rooms, an office, and a cargo area where the kitchen used to be because you lost cargo area due to the cages, I turned some of it into a cold storage area. Up on the main deck you have the captain’s quarters, the crew quarters, and the mess, which is now also the kitchen. I had to turn the captain quarters a bit smaller to fit more into the mess, I hope you don’t mind. And then on the lower deck, you have lots of space to store the extra sails and everything you- “

(X)(X)

“But Nami!! I want us all to sleep in the crew quarters!” Luffy whined. “We’re a crew!”

Nami shook her head.

“That makes no sense.” Exasperated with the argument that had gone on for hours, she suddenly had an inspiration. “A Captain should have their own captain quarters. It’s part of being a captain! I bet that Shanks had his own captain quarters, right? And his first mate and the Nakama that had been with him the most had their own rooms, right?”

Luffy pouted. “Yeah, he did. But I always imagined what it would be like to share a room with everyone.” She sighed, before cheering up again. “I guess you’re right. You all deserve your own rooms as my first Nakama!”

(X)(X)

“Should we have a personal flag, Captain?” Zoro asked from where he was cleaning his swords.

Luffy cocked her head, considering. “Well, I always wanted one, but I don’t know what to put on one, except for the hat.”

“Something that represents our occupation as bounty hunters perhaps?” Nami suggested.

“How do you even represent something like that?” Zoro asked frowning. “If we put anything that resembles a Joly Roger we might get confused with pirates.”

Nami blinked, not knowing how to refute that. “How about just the hat, really big, to represent Luffy as the captain, and then three swords behind it to represent Zoro as the first mate then? They were the original bounty hunters, and the heart of the crew after hall.”

“Ooohhh, I like it!” came Luffy’s excited voice. “What do you think Zoro?”

“I’m honored” He said, smiling back at the rest of the crew.

“I think you should add some shackles below the hat, sort of like eyes, to symbolize the fact that we are bounty hunters and that we are basically arresting pirates.”

“Yeah!! Do that, do that!”

“Alright! Leave it to me, the amazing painter Usopp. I shall paint the greatest flag in existence!”

“Make sure one of the swords is white. Just like Zoro’s treasure!”

(X)(X)

Later in her own room, Luffy stretched before mumbling.

“Damn! Sabo was right about what a big ship would be like!” She laughed, before getting up and making her way out her room. “I guess it’s nice to have my own room in a big ship though. It’s like a new adventure.”

(X)(X)

_“Luffy! What is this I hear about you skipping lessons again?” Makino put her hands on her hips, looking sternly at the child sitting at the bar._

_“Lessons are boring! Why do I need to learn all those things Makino!” The little girl whined. “I just need to know how to fight so I can bring down my bounties!” she mimicked a punch in the air as she came out victorious from her fight._

_“Oh yeah?” Makino asked, putting her rag down in front of Luffy on the counter and folding her arms over it so she was at eye level with her adopted little sister/daughter. “And how will you read the names of the pirates you want to catch, if you can’t read? Or know how to count up the money to make sure the Marines aren’t pulling your leg when they pay you?”_

_“Oh...I hadn’t thought of that...” Luffy’s face turned considering._

_“There is a lot you have to learn Luffy if you want to be the best.”_

_The girl's shoulders dropped. “I guess I will have to try better at it.” She pouted. “But tomorrow. I already skipped today, so I might as well get some meat! Pretty please, Makino!!” She gave the woman behind the counter a big, big smile, hoping it would score her some precious meat._

_Makino sighed, smiling indulgently. She would humor the girl for today, but tomorrow she would make sure Luffy went to school, even if she had to drag her there._

_Her little sister would not be a casualty of the seas. She would go on her adventure as prepared as she could make her!_

(X)(X)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm new to this site. I hope you like my stories.  
> Thank you for the kudos! If you like the story, give me some more kudos or write a comment and tell me what you think!


	3. MEAT

(X)(X)

3

MEAT

(X)(X)

_“Who do you want on your crew first Luffy?” Makino’s voice came from the back room where she was taking stock of her stores._

_“A musician! So, things can be fun!” The nine-year-old said from her seat at the bar where she was happily munching on her food._

_“Oh! A musician! How interesting.” Makino chuckled, making her way back to the bar. “But won't you get hungry if you don’ get a cook right away?”_

_Luffy pouted. “I do know how to cook, you know Makino. I cook all the meat I catch in the mountain after all” AT Makino’s raised eyebrow she huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “What?! I cook just fine! But I guess can get a cook after I get my musician, they can make more delicious food, like Makino”_

_Makino laughed at the charming smile being sent her way. “You know, I heard that having a proper chef at sea is important, because if you’re not careful and don’t eat the right stuff you can get very sick.”_

_“Really?”_

_“Oh yes. It can get so bad that all your teeth fall off.”_

_“NO WAY!! Then I won't be able to eat any meat!!” Luffy’s small hands slapped her face in horror. “That’s it Makino! I’ll get an amazing chef as soon as I can, so I have the best food and don’t lose any teeth!”_

(X)(X)

“That looks so bad!!” Usopp screeched. “What’s wrong with him?!”

Luffy squinted at Zoro’s friends they had fished from the ocean. “Do they have one of those sea diseases that cooks can fix?”

Nami huffed looking at her strangely. “Sometimes I wonder how you know these things” Shaking her head, she turned back to the rescued bounty hunters. “Usopp, go get some limes. They’ve got scurvy.”

(X)(X)

“You sure we can find a cook here?” Zoro asked, eyeing the floating restaurant dubiously.

“Of curse big bro! All types of people come here! Even Marines.”

Suddenly, a ship appeared beside them, a big Marine insignia proudly displayed in the sails.

“Did I just hear someone speaking badly of the Marines? Are you perhaps pirates?”

“Nope” Said Luffy, blinking at the condescending Marine looking down on them.

“Of course not!” Nami said, immediately sending a charming smile at the man and sliding in front of her captain. “We are just travelers passing by. We are all very grateful for the Marines presence in our seas to keep us safe.”

Noticing the charming woman on the other boat, the marine puffed up in pride.

“Of course, Mam. If you ever have any trouble, you can count on me, Lieutenant Fullbody!”

“I am certain we are in good hands. I hope you enjoy your meal!”

(X)(X)

“Damn, you’re good” Zoro whispered as the Marine made his way to the restaurant, ignoring their plebian existence.

Nami preened, sending him a condescending look. “Of course. A pirate thief needs to have some moves.”

Luffy clapped. “Since Nami took care of the idiot Marine, we can go get some MEAT!”

(X)(X)

“This meat is amazing!” Luffy cried in happiness. “Please join my bounty hunters crew!!”

“Alas, I am truly sorry, sweat lady, but it is my deepest regret to tell you that I cannot” The blond cook bowed in regret”

“Yes, you can! I refuse your refusal” Luffy said, shaking her head vigorously. “I won’t leave until you join!”

(X)(X)

“More meat please!!”

“You’re back today again?”

“Yes! The meat is amazing! You have to join my crew!”

“I’m very, deeply sorry, but I can’t.”

(X)(X)

“Join my crew Sanji! Your meat is the food of the gods! And you’re so nice!”

“You give me such amazing words. I shall cherish them forever, but I cannot Lady Luffy~”

(X)(X)

“Saaanjiiiiii!!!” Luffy whined as her crewmates snickered around the table. “Join my crew!”

“Join them already you idiot. I’m tired of having her here! She’s almost run us out of meat!”

(X)(X)

“That will be trouble” Zoro said, watching the big pirate step out of the room.

Beside him, Luffy was flipping through the pages of her bounty posters collection. “This is good. Now we don’t have to go looking for him. He says he will be back, and we can get him then. That way we let the people leave and they don’t get hurt.”

“Is he worth that much?”

His only answer was a certain poster stuck to his face. Picking up the book, he pulled it away enough so he could carefully look at what the page was all about.

A grey-haired male with a sleazy smile looked at him from the picture. Below it, the words read “DON KRIEG – 17.000.000 Beli”

(X)(X)

“Uaaa! I almost fell overboard! Thanks for the hand Sanji!” Luffy said, getting herself out of the net Don Krieg had launched at her. If Sanji hadn't caught her arm at the last minute, she would have definitely gone under.

“Don Krieg... lost...” Gin muttered, disbelieving.

“Yup. About time. Such a bad captain he was.” She shook her head in disgust. “I’m sure you will be a much better captain than he ever was, Gin.”

“M-Me?” He asked incredulously.

“Of course! Your Nakama already loved and respected you more than they did Krieg. He only ruled through fear.” She smiled at the honorable man. “Make sure to treat them right.”

Gin’s face went red at the praise, but it went unnoticed by Luffy, who had stretched her hand through the doors so she could grab her bag from the inside.

“Now where is that talking snail. I hope that Fullbody idiot Marine is still close by and has my 17 million Beli. I need to meet my crew and find Nami.”

(X)(X)

“Arlong?!” Luffy asked in surprise.

“Have you heard of him Luffy sis?”

“Yeah, he is pretty high in bounty actually. I didn’t know he was fixed in this area at all.” Checking his bounty poster to make sure of how much he was worth, she smirked. “20 million Beli. That would make 66 million Beli in total bounties. Not bad at all! And it will be 82 when they finally give us Kuro’s bounty.”

Before Sanji could open his mouth to ask how she had acquired such a large sum of money, a strange sound came from the water.

Luffy blinked in surprise. “Is there something bellow us?”

The sound was heard again before an eerie silence came. A long shadow passed below the boat, circling around.

Suddenly, the water around them rushed out and from the deepness of the ocean came out a gigantic... cow.

“What the hell!” Cried Yosaku, eyes wide and shaking in fear.

“Ohohoh...” Luffy’s face opened in a smile. “I think we just found our ride guys!”

(X)(X)

“Luffy!” Nami cried, tears falling down her face. “Please help me!”

Luffy smiled, grabbing her hat, and putting it over her Nakama’s head.

“Of course, I will. Take care of my treasure while I take care of Arlong, okay?

(X)(X)

“NAMIII!! YOU’RE FREE!” The cries echoed through the ruins of what was once Arlong Park, bringing new tears to the eyes of all those watching by.

Nami’s laughed at the same time as she cried, and so did her sister and all her neighbors, the relief of finally being free after so long, making itself known.

“Hehehehehe.” A nasal voice came from behind them, bringing the sudden party to a halt. “That’s enough. I will be taking Arlong’s bounty and all the riches of Arlong Park. Thank you for your cooperation in taking down this pirate. Put down your weapons now!”

Luffy frowned, looking at the weirdly dressed Marine and his group of men. Where all the weird Marines, bad ones? “Nami, is this the Marine that stole from you?”

“Yes.” She bit her lip, worrying about what could happen.

Having been present the last time a confrontation with Marines had taken place, Zoro smirked.

“Then you are taking nothing with you. Arlong is my bounty.” Luff’s voice was firm, her face set.

The ratty Marine sneered. “I can make your life very difficult missy. I am Captain Nezumi of the 16th Branch. One call to headquarters and your face will be on a bounty poster with a price higher than Arlong!”

“Oh? Is that so?” She flexed her arms, while Zoro and Sanji made their way around the back of the group of Marines. “Let’s see about that.”

(X)(X)

“Hey! Gramps! I found another stupid Marine. He was taking money from the merman pirate Arlong and keeping quiet about where he was.”

“WHAT!” The poor snail almost broke its jaw trying to copy the Vice-Admiral’s expression.

“Yeah. Arlong has been living in this huge place in the Conomi islands for the last 8 or so years and preying on the villages around here. He had already destroyed some 20 villages or so. And this Marine knew all about it and was taking his bribes to keep quiet.”

“WHAT!”

“Yeah. And he let Arlong destroy the 77th Branch a couple of days ago, when they came over to answer the call for help from some survivors from Cosa Village, after Arlong destroyed it.

“WHAT! THAT FUCKING SCUM!”

“Yeah. And he also stole about 100 million Beli from the villagers at Cocoyashi.”

“WHAT!” The snail was so red, that Luffy feared it might overheat and die. “Tie them all up and get the village leader to put them in a cell. I’m almost at Shells Town to take care of the mess there. I could be in Cocoyashi in five days and then double back to Shells Town. But I’ll contact the dispatch for you, there might be someone closer that can take Arlong and give you a form for you to take to a base to exchange for the money.”

“Thanks, Gramps. I knew I could count on you!”

(X)(X)

_“Hey, Makino?” Luffy asked, voice soft as she held her big sister's hand on their way back to the village. Behind them, the sun was setting over the mountaintop, the cross that represented Sabo’s life full of the flowers they had brought._

_“Yes Luffy?”_

_“What would you do, if a Noble or a Marine did something bad? Can they really do whatever they want?”_

_Makino sighed, not really knowing how to answer._

_“Sometimes, they can. The average person has no way of fighting against a real noble or a Marine Officer. They could easily pronounce you a criminal, and your life would be forfeit.” Ruffling the girl's hair, Makino tried to find the words that would reassure her little charge. “But you are different, you know Lu. You have Garp.”_

_“Gramps?”_

_“Yes, Luffy. Your grandfather would never let a Marine, or a minor Noble like Sabo’s father do bad things. Especially a Marine. So, if you find one doing things that they shouldn’t, you should always call Garp, and he will make sure they are punished. Okay?”_

_“Okay!” The girl’s voice seemed finally more animated._

_“Just make sure not to beat them up unless you are really sure they are bad. And try to stay away from those very big Nobles. I think even Garp would have problems with them.”_

_“Okay Makino, but if I find bad Marines, they better run, cause I’m gonna sick Gramps on them!!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thank you to all those that supported this story :)


	4. A TOWN OF BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS

(X)(X)

4

A TOWN OF BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS

(X)(X)

_“Hey, Gramps?”_

_Raising his head, Garp sent his precious granddaughter a smile as she waved a newspaper at him. “Yes, Lu?”_

_“It says here they arrested a guy who had a devil fruit that let him turn into dust. How do they keep him tied up? He can just turn himself into dust and float away all invisible like dust is.” She knocked her head, a new idea taking form in her head. “Do you think the dust in the attic is actually mystery dust that will turn person?”_

_“WHAHAHAHA” Garp’s laugh spread through the house, his good humor at his granddaughters’ thoughts spreading to the girl who let out giggles of her own. “You have a good mind there Lu. It’s true that normal ropes or chains could never hold someone with such a power. But there are special chains made of a special stone that make someone with a devil fruit power very weak and unable to use it.”_

_“A mystery stone?!”_

_“WHAHAHAHAH! You could say that! It’s called Seastone! You see, if a person who ate a devil fruit touches it, it feels just like if you fell into the sea. Only, they don’t drown of course!”_

(X)(X)

“So where to now, Captain” The smile on Nami’s face was contagious, as the ship left Cocoyashi and its screaming inhabitants.

“Well, I always heard about this town near the grand line, where it’s traditional for Pirates to go before they cross reverse mountain. I wanna go there!”

The others looked around, excitement in the air as they realized how close they were to the next adventure.

“Finally going to use some of that money we have been stocking up?”

“Aahahaha. Of course. Let’s set sail to Loguetown!” Grabbing her hat, Luffy jumped around, waving her bounty poster collection, showing all the major bounties of the East Blue with red and green crosses over the names and values of each one. “There is a marine base there, so we can check out the bounties of the Grand Line and see if they will finally give us Kuro’s bounty. And we need to stock up for the Grand Line!”

The others nodded.

“I need new swords.”

“We need to fill the food storage”

“I need more chemicals for my ammo”

“I need paper and ink for my maps”

They all gathered in a moment of comfortable silence as they considered what they would be buying, before an awkward cough came from the duo standing back slightly.

“Ah?” Luffy turned. “What are you doing back there? Johnny, Yosaku? What do you guys wanna get from Loguetown before we go to the Grand Line?”

“Ah! Luffy sis, I don’t know if we should go to Loguetown with you...” Yosaku scratched his head shaking slightly in his nerves. “The Grand Line, it’s a scary place!”

“Yes, yes it is!” Johnny nodded fervently. “It’s not called the pirate’s graveyard for nothing.”

“Well, yeah,” Luffy said, blinking in confusion. “But we’re not pirates”

Zoro and the others laughed at Luffy’s simple answer. “Too true!” He said, winking at his captain. “And if Usopp can do it, so can you guys.”

“Hey, what is that supposed to mean!”

“You really think so, Zoro bro?”

“I don’t say things I don’t mean. But if you join this crew, you better be ready to train like hell” The dark look he sent the other two swordsmen was enough to send them into a clumsy salute slash bow that was at the same time endearing and ridiculous.

“Yes, Zoro bro! You and Luffy sis can count on us!”

“Great! But now you need to find a dream to fight for!” Luffy said with a big smile. “Everyone in the crew must have a dream!”

The boys looked at each other, falling into ridiculous thinking poses. “We will be the best dadao wielding duo in the world!”

“Uh?” Zoro frowned “That is terrible closed to being the best swordsman... but if its only about the dadao I guess I’ll let it pass.” Then he sent them an evil smirk. “You know what that means? Extra training...”

The duo could only shiver in terror.

(X)(X)

_“Hey, Gramps” Luffy called, pulling at her grandfather’s arm until he turned to her with an indulgent smile. “There were fruits from the south blue in the market. How do people and stuff travel from one sea to another?”_

_“Well, there are merchant routes for people with special permissions. They can travel and sell and buy stuff from different blues.”_

_“Hum... What about other people that want to travel and see different places, just because.” She asked, giving him a suspicious stare._

_“Just because uh?” Garp said with a sad smile. “You can do that in special cruise ships, but it’s very expensive. Other boats are not allowed to travel just because, only the sanctioned ones.”_

_“What about the Marines? You go to lots of different places all the time!” Garp had no problem in admitting that the pout in his granddaughters’ face was adorable, and he couldn’t resist it._

_“Ah! Of course, Marines go everywhere where justice is needed! If you want to see the world, joining the Marines will let you do that Lu!”_

_“What about bounty hunters?”_

_Garp coughed, pulling himself from his daydream where Luffy was a proud Marine standing beside him on a Marine vessel._

_“Well...”_

_“Yes...”_

_He sighed, even if he wanted, he couldn’t resist his beautiful granddaughter. “They can. Sometimes. If they have proved to be very good at catching pirates._

(X)(X)

“So, Zoro will get two swords. You should take Johnny and Yosaku with you so they can also get some quality steal on them, if their swords are lost in the Grand Line they could end up without a weapon and that’s dangerous. Make sure you all have some extras for just in case.”

“Yes, Captain!”

“Sanji, make sure to stock on everything food-related, we don’t want to go without in case anything happens. Krieg spent two weeks without finding land, we don’t want to go hungry if that happens to us.”

“On it Captain!”

“Usopp, stock on what you need for your ammo. Don’t forget to store it in your new workroom, we don’t want you to have any more accidents on deck, ok? Also, try to find a new Den Den Mushi, in case ours dies or something, and so we can talk to each other in case we get separated for some reason while we are hunting for a pirate. Maybe more than one.”

“Sure, thing Captain!”

“Alright. Nami, navigation. As I told you, for some mystery reason in the grand line you need a mystery compass. They should sell it in Loguetown, but we might need some special permission to buy it, so that will have to wait until I talk to the Marines. For now, buy what you need for yourself and find us some Seastone. It makes devil fruit users weak and we will need it for fights and to keep any pirate with a power locked in the cells without them running away.”

“Alright Captain.”

“Okay, everyone, buy some clothes for all kinds of weather. They say the grand line is crazy and one island could be a desert and the next one a frozen hell, so be careful. Use your money if it’s something you are buying for you, but you can use the crew stash if it’s for crew use, okay?”

“Ae ae Captain!”

“Man, I don’t think I heard her speak so much in one sitting?”

“She sure has been thinking about coming here for a while, to have that speech ready like that.”

“How long do you think it took her to think it up?”

“Uh? Did you say something Nami, Usopp?”

“Nothing!”

“And what will you do Captain?”

“Me? I’m gonna check the execution platform, and then I’ll go see the Marines.”

(X)(X)

“Hey, mister Marine!” Luffy called, holding her hat over her head as she runs to reach the marines arresting some pirates in the harbor. “I seem to have gotten lost. Can you tell me the way to the execution platform?”

“The execution platform?” The small guy asked, surprised.

“Yeah, I want to see where the Pirate King was executed!”

The Marine blinked, before shrugging, not really caring what she did as long as she didn’t cause trouble. Reaching into his pocket he took out a paper and a pen and scribbled down something.

“Here. It’s a basic map to get there. The platform is in this really big square in the middle of town. If you get lost again just try to go towards that direction.”

“Cool! Thanks a lot, mister Marine!”

(X)(X)

“Wow!” It’s so big!”

The platform seemed to go on forever, being almost as tall as the building behind it, and Luffy couldn’t even imagine how the Pirate King had climbed up there.

“Let’s go up and see what he saw!”

Stretching her arm, Luffy pulled herself up to the first beam, being careful not to bring harm to the structure with the recoil of her body stretching and snapping as her legs joined her arm on the beam. Stretching the other arm, she grabbed the next beam and repeated the process.

“What do you think you are doing?” A deep voice came from behind and below her, making her turn her head to find the speaker.

A big guy with white hair and two cigars in his mouth was looking up at her with a frown, arms crossed over his chest.

“Oh! Hello!” The girl said, sending him a smile. “I want to see the view!”

“The view?”

“Yeah, the view Gold D. Roger saw.”

The Marine looked at her weird and was silent for so long that Luffy shrugged before continuing to climb.

“Why do you want to see the view? Are you a pirate perchance?”

“Nah! I’m a bounty hunter!” came the reply as the girl kept on climbing without pause, now almost at the top.

“A bounty hunter?” The man murmured, taking in the clothes and straw hat.

“Wow! Amazing view!” Luffy laughed as she finally reached the top, sitting down on the platform and admiring the sights that the pirate king had seen in his final moments.

“Hey!” The Marine called from down below, prompting her to look over the edge of the platform. It wasn’t like she was afraid of falling. Even if she did, her head was too rubbery for her to die. “What’s your name pirate hunter?”

She opened her mouth to answer, but before she could something suddenly slammed into her from behind, trapping her hands and head.

“Flashily die! STRAW HAT!” Came an annoying voice from behind her.

She tried to stretch her neck to see, but to no avail. Her upper body was definitely stuck.

“What the...”

“AHAHAH! Prepare to be flashily executed! AHAHAHA!” This time she caught a face with the corner of her eye. What the heck was Buggy, the idiot clown, doing out of prison? And with his foot on top of the contraption holding her down, so she couldn’t get out!

Down in the square, Bugg’s crew and a lady with weird skin were making nuisances of themselves cheering and causing a ruckus that was occupying all the Marines in the area, even the big curious one from before.

Luffy let the clown monologue as much as he wanted, trying to think up a strategy. Up ahead Zoro and Sanji appeared, distracting the clown slightly, letting her experiment enough to realize that her lower body was free and that she would be able to move her legs enough to get loose. At least she hoped so.

The stupid clown had apparently noticed that his subordinates were not enough to take care of the Marines and decided to hurry up her so-called execution.

“Now, for the crime of attacking me, the greatest pirate in the East Blue and the one who will be Pirate King, I sentence you to flashily die!” The bastard declared in his most pompous voice, slowly raising his sword in the air.

Luffy, who had discreetly been stretching her leg as much as possible, just snorted before raising her voice. “NO WAY! Go back to prison you big-nosed bastard!”

That was enough to make him lose his cool and that was the moment she raised her leg and hit the clown where the sun doesn’t shine. Another kick, while he was down, sent him over the edge of the platform, giving her time to finally pull the restrain over her head with shear force and some help from her feet.

She was made of rubber, gymnastics had been fun when she was a kid.

Standing up she sneered down at the pirates below. “Think you can arrest me? I’m gonna be the freest person in the seas!”

And with that, she jumped down on top of a pirate to join the fray bellow.

(X)(X)

“It appears that these pirates were after you. I don’t like people who bring trouble to my town” Cigar Marine glared down at her, making her send a glare back in return.

“And they wouldn’t have, if you Marines had kept them in prison, like they were supposed to be.”

“Excuse me?”

Luffy huffed, stretching her arms over the back of the couch in the office they had relocated to after the fight, Zoro and Sanji going back to their respective tasks. Might as well get comfortable so she could concentrate on this conversation and use big words. If she let her mind wander things would start to get confusing and not making sense.

“Iron Mace Alvida, bounty exchanged at Shells Town. Buggy the Clown. Bounty also exchanged at the base in Shells Town. Both by me. They wanted revenge for the humiliation, but they should have been in prison.” She looked the guy over, noticing his frown. “That just so happens to be the Marine base that I reported to one of your superiors as having a corrupt captain. The ax guy.”

“Morgan.” The cigar Marine said, shaking his head. “So, you are Monkey D. Luffy. Buggy, Jango, Krieg, Arlong, and a claim on a supposed Kuro of a thousand plans, still unconfirmed.” Pausing, the Marine took a big inhale of his cigars, the smoke apparently disappearing and not needing to be expelled on his next exhale.

That was weird.

Hadn’t he had a devil fruit power in the town square? Maybe that was it.

Damn. Focus. Focus.

“I am Captain Smoker. I must apologize in the name of the Marines in Shells Town. It seems they have not taken well to their lack of commanding officer. You can be assured that an inspection is being conducted.”

She smiled at him pleased that her name was known. If he knew who she was, her job here would be easier.

She decided to ignore the apology and the inspection thing. When Gramps got his hands on them, they would all be crying in regret from all those fists of love.

“I had thought you would have confirmed Kuro by now. Especially with Jango at hand.”

He sighed pulling out one of his big cigars and putting it out, expelling the smoke from his lungs this time. “Yes, they actually delivered the both of them here. And I agree that he seems the real deal, but headquarters wanted to see for themselves. I can however pay you the money still owed to you for Arlong and Krieg. I supposed that is why you stopped by.”

Luffy frowned, waving her hand in her face to clear the air a bit. Was cigar Marine’s hair... turning into smoke?

Blinking so she could focus again, she turned back to the conversation. Big words, big words.

“That is part of the reason, but not my main goal here in Loguetown.” Seeing that the Marine in front of her just raising an eyebrow and waiting for her explanation, she carried on. “The East Blue has dried up of any bounties over 5 million Beli, and staying here is not only a waste, but also boring as hell. I wish to obtain a license for me and my associates to pursue bounty hunting in the Grand Line.”

“Ohh” The man’s eyebrow had gone even more up if that was possible. “Associates, is it? I hear you formed a bounty hunting crew. Not unheard of, but something extremely rare, and that rarely lasts long. So, you must understand my doubts.”

She waved her hand in front of them, dismissing his words. “Those were not crews. Simply groups of hunters traveling together in order to overwhelm their opponents with numbers. They didn’t work long term because things always fell apart when it came time to share the money. I don’t have a group, I have a crew.”

“How is it a crew? How is it different from those groups? I won’t be granting licenses to a bunch of unreliable bounty hunters that will fall apart on the first island in the grand line and turn to crime in order to earn a living. That would fall on my head.”

She snorted and rolled her eyes. “We are a crew because we are a crew. We have a navigator, we have a cook, we have general crewmembers with general skills like sniping and sword fighting. We have a real ship and not just small individual boats following each other. We have a captain and a first mate. We have a system for bounty money distribution. Every member was carefully chosen by myself as the captain. We are very different from those groups that fall apart at the first sign of Beli. And we are certainly reliable, the proof is that we are together, after Buggy, Kuro, Krieg and Arlong.”

The man rubbed his chin and decided to prod deeper. “Why even get a crew? You don’t really need one do you?”

“Need one, not really no. At least for the East Blue. But a crew makes things easier. After all the pirates I need to catch also have crews.” She sighed, everyone asked the same bloody thing. “But I don’t want to be in the East Blue forever. And to be able to travel the grand line I need a crew.”

He kept staring at her, clearly unsatisfied with her answer.

“What, you want my life story or something?”

“That would certainly help in deciding if I can accept you and your crew crossing over to the grand line or not. But you can summarize.”

Luffy rubbed her head in exasperation. Why were Marines so annoying sometimes!

“Why do you need so much information? I have already proved myself as a reliable bounty hunter capable of facing extremely strong opponents. Arlong was certainly at Grand Line level.”

“That may be true, but if you mess up and turn pirate later, it will be on me. And since taking this post, I have let no pirate pass.”

She rolled her eyes. “I have no interest in turning pirate.” She huffed. Again, what was it with people that they always the same questions? So annoying. “Basically, my goal is to be able to do whatever I want in life, and one of those things is exploring the Grand Line. Being a pirate doesn’t allow you to do whatever you want because you have Marines following you everywhere. Being a Marine is also out since you have to follow all those orders. So, I chose bounty hunter.”

The man chuckled. “Really? Just that? I thought you had a better head on you.” He mocked.

Luffy sighed, people could be so annoying. She’d had in deep discussions on this subject with her Nakama before, but not strange Marines. Pursing her lips, she figured he wouldn’t leave the issue alone, so might as well just try to explain it.

It wasn’t like her opinions were illegal or anything anyway.

“Fine, you’re so annoying. But it’s simple really.” It didn’t mean she wouldn’t let him know she didn’t like it. Crossing her arms, she tried to find the best way to make him understand. “Life is not fair. If you have the right blood or the right money, you can do whatever you want, even at the cost of other people’s freedom. If you don’t have the right blood or the right money, then you can never really do a lot. Maybe move to the next island. Maybe you become a carpenter instead of a farmer, but you never really go far in life. And those with the right blood and the right money might always come down on you when you least expect.

I want more in my life. I want to see all that there is in the world. Exotic Islands and Animals. Different people. Mermaids, Giants. All the seas in the world. I want to be as free as I can. Do what I want, go where I want, not answer to anyone but myself.

But I wasn’t born with the right blood or the right money, so I had to find a different way. And the easiest way would be to become a pirate, a Marine, or a bounty hunter.

If I became a pirate I would become a criminal, have bounty hunters and Marines after my head. Honestly, that’s simply ridiculous idea if all you really want to do is be free and travel the world. I don’t want to hurt anyone.

The problem with becoming a Marine is that I would have to follow your ridiculous code and follow all the orders people would give me for many years. I wouldn’t be able to go where I wanted to go, or do what I want to do. And if I don’t agree with the orders that are given to me? What then?

So bounty hunting became the perfect choice.”

“You realize, you sound a bit like a revolutionary, don’t you?” His face presented a frown, but his voice was curious.

She laughed. “Have no fear, I have no wish to fight for a revolution such as theirs. Like I said, my wish, is to be as free as I want. Free to travel, free to see the world, free to move around as I wish. Basically, I want to be as free as possible within my power, and to do that, the best way is to be a bounty hunter. As I am breaking no laws, I will have no Marines after me to restrict my freedom. And then one day, I will be so well known, so well-loved in all the seas, that I will be truly Free, and not even those with the right blood and the right money will be able to touch me. And that is very rare in this world.”

“Ah! And that is why you say you won’t turn pirate, because to be one would mean to have one more restriction imposed on you and losing the love of the people.”

“That’s right.” She crossed her arms over her chest with a nod, pleased that he had understood.

Silence reigned between them for a few minutes while Smoker contemplated her words, before he finally sighed, shaking his head. “You are indeed skilled, and so is Roronoa Zoro, the two of you could certainly make it in the first half of the Grand Line. The others of your crew, well, if they die it’s none of my business.” He rolled his cigars across his lips, finally nodding in acceptance. “Very well, I don’t truly agree with your logic, but I am convinced that you will do your best to uphold the laws and will not turn to piracy at the first hurdle. You will have your licenses for the first half of the Grand Line. On one condition.”

“Oh?” This time it was her turn to raise an eyebrow. Luffy had always wanted to do that, it looked so cool.

“If one of your crewmembers turns pirate, you will be responsible to hunt them down. Or it will also be your head on a poster.”

Luffy smirked. “That will never happen. But I accept that condition. If it ever does happen, I will take care of it.”

“Very well. We have an agreement.”

(X)(X)

“Everyone gather around!” Luffy’s voice called over the noise of the wind as she pulled over a barrel to the center of the deck. “We are finally going to the Grand Line! This is it! Let’s have a launching ceremony!”

“Let’s do it!”

“I’ll become the greatest swordsman in the world!”

“I’ll make a map of the world!”

“I’ll become a brave warrior of the seas!”

“I’ll find all blue!”

“o-oh! We, we will be the best dadao wielders in the world!”

“Yes! I will be the freest person in all the world!”

(X)(X)

Looking over the docks, Smoker wondered what the future would bring, with such a crew of bounty hunters making their way to the Grand Line.

Those words, the final words from the girl, no, woman, wouldn’t leave him alone.

_“You know, Smoky, you can also become a truly free man. You just have to make it to the very top of the Marine rankings, where almost no one will be able to touch you.”_

_He almost rolled her eyes at the nickname and the ‘just’ in that phrase. Cheeky thing. “Why didn’t you become a Marine then?”_

_She snorted “I told you. I could never take being ordered around. Even if it would make Gramps day. Not to mention all the awful things you are made to do.”_

_Smoker frowned at that. “What do you mean?”_

_Her eyes as she looked at him told him she had had very harsh experiences in the past. “I’ve heard stories of terrible things done by the marines in the name of so-called justice, not really in East Blue, I guess, but certainly in other seas. And the corruption I have experienced even here. All that was, and still is, enough to make sure I don’t want anything to do with what your organization calls justice.”_

_She turned to leave, and he was momentarily frozen. “Wait, what do you mean?”_

_The sad smile she threw at him as devastating. “Absolute justice is not pretty, Smoky, you should check it out.” She was turning around again, but paused, seemingly hesitating. “When I said that those with the right blood or the right money could do whatever they wanted, even at the cost of other people’s freedom I was not exaggerating._

_Absolute Justice. It just means it corrupts absolutely.”_

Pulling out his cigars, Smoker sighed and rubbed his face. Life seemed to have gotten more complicated all of a sudden.

“Prepare to set sail. We are going to the Grand Line” He ordered the Marines behind him.

“But sir. This island is your jurisdiction. I don’t know what the higher-ups will say.”

“Tell them I said ‘don’t give me orders’.”

Monkey D. Luffy was right. There were no more powerful pirates in the East Blue. Staying here would be a waste of his capabilities, just as it would have been a waste of hers. It was time to set sail for the Grand Line.

And figure out what her words meant.

(X)(X)

_“What do you have there Lu?” Makino asked, eyeing the very large piles of papers that Luffy was staking at her table, while her grandfather ate noisily beside her._

_“It’s my bounty poster collection. I’m separating them by where they are so I can find them more quickly._

_“Oh” Makino chuckled at the twelve-year-old focus on her task. “Sounds difficult. How do you know where everyone is at a given time? Aren’t pirates always moving around?”_

_“That’s true” Garp managed, after swallowing his food. “But the newspaper usually helps you keep track of the bigger names, so it’s fine if you pay attention. But all Marine bases keep a record of who is where anyway, and you can always ask for a stack of the current bounties in any sea.”_

_“Good to know Garp-san”_

_A breeze from the window ruffled the papers, threatening to send some of to the floor. Makino quickly moved to drop Luffy’s glass of juice on top of them._

_“How about I show you how to bind them together later, Luffy?” The grateful and excited look her little sister sent her at the suggestion made Makino smile, just like it always did._

_Five years later, Luffy would repeat the process that her beloved Makino had thought her, to bind her brand-new stack of bounty posters. On the blank paper sheet at the top one could read “Bounties of the Grand Line – The Straw Hat Hunters”._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the kudos!


	5. EPILOGUE

(X)(X)

EPILOGUE

MEANWHILE, SOMEWHERE IN THE SEAS

(X)(X)

“FIST OF WRATH!” The voice of the Vice-Admiral bellowed as his fist came down on the ex-Marine Captain that had been dragged to the courtyard of the Marine Base.

Around him, the Marines of the 153rd Branch shivered even as they maintained their salutes, doing as much as possible to pass unnoticed by their scary superior.

It was in vain, as the big man eventually got bored of the bloody ax wielder and turned to them with hard eyes.

“Now, I want all the officers in this Base lined in front of me by order of rank. All sailors lined by years of service. We are going to have some words on the duties and the rules of the Marine Corps!”

All present gulped heavily, before shouting in unison “Sir! Yes, Sir!

(X)(X)

“Sir!” The Lieutenant saluted before presenting the papers he carried to his superior. “Captain Smoker in Loguetown just transmitted new paperwork through the Den Den Mushi!”

“Oh? Has he captured any new noteworthy pirates? I believe that the East Blue is drying up of any of those.” The admiral said, straightening the cuff of his floral undershirt.

The Lieutenant coughed slightly to clear his voice. “Not exactly sir! It appears he has accepted the request for a Grand Line Bounty Hunting Licence to the group of bounty hunters that have been cleaning up the East Blue!”

“Oh?” The man rubbed his chin, reviewing the papers in front of him before dismissing all but two. “Monkey D. Luffy. That is Garp’s granddaughter, isn’t it? Her bloodline is questionable, but there might be something salvageable in there after all.”

“Yes sir!”

“Um... Roronoa Zoro, that name is somewhat familiar. What are our reports on him?”

“Sir! There were sightings of him dueling Mihawk in East Blue close to the so-called ‘Baratie Floating Restaurant’ where this group of bounty hunters apprehended the infamous East Blue Pirate Krieg! It was said that while Mihawk thoroughly defeated Roronoa, he left the man alive and challenged him to fight him in the future!”

“Oh? How unexpected.” Pulling his hat further down his head, the admiral huffed and handed the papers back to his subordinate. “Make sure we have detailed files on each of them from now on. Smoker was right to let them trough, they might catch us some pirates in Paradise, and if they die trying is no problem of ours. But we must keep an eye out in case they turn pirate on us.”

“Yes sir!”

Another small cough from the Lieutenant was enough for the admiral to realize that the other Marine was not yet done.

“What else?”

“Ah! Sir! A-a, well, Captain Smoker sir.”

“Get it out man, Captain Smoker what?”

“Ah, he sent word a few hours after the paperwork that he too would be making his way into the Grand Line.”

“What?” Unlike before, the admiral was now visibly upset, not liking the new information. “What reasons did he give to abandon his post?”

“Ah, well, sir. He did not give any reasons. But his subordinates in Loguetown believe that with all the major pirates in the East Blue now captured, he feels he is no longer needed there.”

The admiral frowned, clearly angry. “I will have words with Captain Smoker. This is a serious breach in Marine approved behavior. Find a way the contact him.”

“Sir! Yes sir!”

(X)(X)

“Where is the scum?”

Genzo swallowed at the Marines tone. The big man was clearly angry at the Marine Captain he had detained in his cells.

Good.

“Right this way Vice Admiral. We followed the procedures your subordinate passed along.”

“Good. This will not take long.”

He was right. Two hours later, a trembling former captain and his higher-ranking officers were being escorted into the Vice-Admiral’s ship.

After assuring the population of Cocoyashi that the old 16th Branch had already been disbanded – it’s personnel either imprisoned, demoted, or reposted somewhere else – and was now fully staffed with a whole new squadron, Monkey D. Garp climbed on to his ship and set sail.

“Damm, that family is crazy.”

(X)(X)

“Report.”

The Marine Captain responsible for all interrogations at Marine Headquarters saluted his assembled superiors before answering. “Yes sir! My men reported that the pirate known as Jango possesses an incredible hypnosis skill. Evidence in the form of former Marine Captain Morgan shows that this hypnosis can last for years before starting to erode. However, the power of the mind believing something as truth for so long will make it so the individual will continue to believe the fabricated memories instead of the true ones.

It has therefore been verified that the man known as pirate Kuro of a hundred plans, executed for his crimes against the world government five years ago was, in fact, a body double, while the real Kuro went into hiding in the Gecko Islands, more specifically in Syrup Village. There, he proceeded to gain employment as a butler to a well off family, while plotting their deaths one by one in such a way that it would not raise suspicions onto himself, and would leave him as the sole beneficiary of the inheritance.

His final plot was based heavily on the pillaging of Syrup Village by the Black Cat Pirates. However, they crossed paths with the bounty hunters Monkey D. Luffy and Roronoa Zoro, who had stopped at the village to resupply. The two bounty hunters defeated the Black Cat Pirates and captured both Kuro and Jango.

The two pirates were picked up by the 67th after a call from the dispatch and dropped off at Loguetown, and finally brought here after a special request from Headquarters. Monkey D. Luffy and Roronoa Zoro were immediately attributed the capture of Jango and given a bounty voucher for the correct amount by the 67th, but only given a slip of inquiry for the capture of Kuro, as his identity had yet to be verified.”

“Thank you, Captain, you may sit.”

“As you see, we have a problem on our hands. The story of the wrong execution is not known by the public, and it should stay that way. But quite a few Marine Officers are aware of the capture, as well as the family Kuro was trying to kill off, and they will find it strange if no mention of the new development is made known.”

“That is true, but to make the issue public is to admit to gross oversight.”

“Not necessarily. This man is not well known, it would not be expected for this situation to make front page in the papers. In fact, it is not even cause for a mention in any page of the papers at all.”

“The Commodore is correct. These bounty hunters have been very successful, I believe it would be in our interest to pay them the bounty. 16 million Beli is nothing in the great scheme of things. No mention of the capture has to be made in the press.”

“Yes, I agree. A simple letter of recognition sent to the family affected is more than enough in this case I believe.”

“Very well. Everyone in agreement?”

“Yes Sir!”

(X)(X)

“Look Pops! That’s my little sister!” Smiling at his young son’s excitement, the gigantic man took the offered newspaper.

“A Bounty Hunter, huh?”

“Yes! She took out Arlong on her own!”

“Let’s see what you bring to the Grand Line, Monkey D. Luffy.”

(X)(X)

“Now that we have gone over all new bounties, I would like to bring to your attention a new development in the Grand Line.”

The Marine officers present looked up from the files in front of them to face the board once more, where the presenter was putting up two photos.

“Monkey D. Luffy.” The man said, pointing at the first photo which showed a young woman in a red vest and a straw hat. “Granddaughter of Vice-Admiral Monkey D. Garp. Occupation, bounty hunting. Credited with the capture of Iron Fist Alvida, 5 million, Buggy the Clown, 15 million, Kuro, 16 million, Krieg, 17 million, Arlong, 20 million.”

Stepping to the side, the man then pointed at the other photograph, this one showing a green-haired man in a white shirt, three swords at his side.

“Roronoa Zoro. Before joining forces with Monkey D. Luffy he was already a well-known name in East Blue. Pirates, marines and the general population alike had all heard of him. However, his most noteworthy capture was made after this new partnership. Jango of the Black Cat Pirates, 9 million. It is certain that his presence also allowed for Monkey D. Luffy to capture the other pirates, as it was reported that he frequently fought these pirate captains’ first mates.

“These two bounty hunters are now part of a bigger group. According to Captain Smoker’s report, as well as the paperwork that was filled in Loguetown, they are calling themselves the Straw Hat Bounty Hunters, with Monkey D. Luffy as captain and Roronoa as first mate. Other members include a woman named Nami as navigator and an unknown that goes by the name of Usopp. Our files on these two are still incomplete, but these are the pictures submitted for the licenses.”

The two pictures went up, followed by a third that showed a blond-haired man in a suit with a cigarette hanging from his mouth.

“The only other member known for defeating a known pirate is this man. Goes by Sanji, previously affiliated with the Baratie Floating Restaurant, where the Straw Hats battled Krieg and his crew. This man is supposedly credited with having defeated Krieg’s first mate, Gin, 12 million. However, no arrest was made of this pirate so this battle is not officially credited by the Marine Headquarters.”

The man took a moment to take a breath and look around. Nods from his superiors showed the presenter that his audience was paying attention.

“This so-called crew of bounty hunters has now entered the Grand Line, and is already contributing to the arrest of pirates in the very beginnings of Paradise. Just yesterday we received word that they had captured Wapol, former King of Drum, who had recently turned to piracy after running from the assault on his former Kingdom by the pirate Blackbeard.

While no bounty had yet been issued on Wapol, I remind you that previous to his capture the discussion on that issue was scheduled to take place today, so this is indeed a most interesting start to this new crew’s Grand Line career.”

(X)(X)

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No idea if the ‘Fist of Wrath’ is a thing or not, but it makes sense to me that Garp would have something that would be the opposite of the fist of love in his mind.  
> I hope you enjoyed this story! Maybe one day I will continue it, but I don’t make any promises!  
> If anyone would like to write more about this AU, feel free to do so. Just let me know so I can read it too!  
> Thank you for the kudos!  
> Best wishes for everyone :)


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